After all sorts of twists and turns, Kumoko-chan and I are now in the middle of preparations to tackle the Middle Stratum.
Although we had successfully evolved, when we stumbled upon the ascending slope leading to the Middle Stratum of the Great Elroe Labyrinth, we found ourselves hesitating at its entrance.
The Middle Stratum of the Great Elroe Labyrinth is a blistering hellscape, where molten lava stretches out like vast rivers and seas.
There is some solid ground to stand on, but the searing heat radiating from both the earth and the air is enough to sap away our HP just by being there.
Most importantly, both of us share an unfortunate weakness: we're extremely vulnerable to fire.
Thus, we’d been repeatedly traveling back and forth between the lower and middle strata—grinding levels and coming up with countermeasures.
I, as a Kokedama, had the particular weakness of easily catching fire and instantly turning into a rolling fireball at the slightest provocation.
As for Kumoko-chan, her ever-dripping spider silk tended to ignite like a fuse, effectively rendering her entire thread arsenal unusable.
In my case, constantly dousing myself with water magic could stave off combustion, but that also slowed me down and consumed a lot of energy.
For Kumoko-chan, as long as she severed her threads promptly, she could avoid accidents, but with her webs unusable, she lost her primary means of long-range attacks.
Kumoko-chan seemed eager to make up for that by turning to magic for ranged offense.
However, she apparently couldn’t sense magic energy at all...
The culprit was her inability to handle the skill [Detection], which closely resembled my own [Omniscience] skill.
I figured the cause was the same as before—those debilitating headaches and the overwhelming flood of information.
To be honest, I myself still couldn’t process most of the data from [Omniscience] either and had no choice but to let most of it wash over me.
However, I felt that raising my [Thought Acceleration] and similar skills might gradually improve the situation.
Still, the more fundamental problem, in my opinion, was that without some form of [Heresy Nullification], the excruciating headaches and mental strain made the skill virtually unusable.
So I taught Kumoko-chan that she should raise her [Heresy Resistance] to make [Detection] manageable.
…… As a result, I ended up taking on most of the long-range attack responsibilities.
I even suggested experimenting on her with low-impact heresy magic during our downtime to help raise her resistance, but she flatly refused.
……Looking back, that was a bit much on my part.
Instead, she opted to acquire different skills and try to muscle through by other means.
Meanwhile, I devised a method to overcome the drastic speed gap between us—by blasting myself with wind magic and rolling along as I got blown away.
It was crude, but I managed to make it work.
Thanks to the fluffy moss covering my rounded, puffed-up body—which made me lightweight relative to my size and surface area—I could propel myself amusingly well by firing wind spells directly at myself.
Though my vision spun wildly in every direction while rolling, I compensated by using [Omniscience] to sense my surroundings and adjust my positioning.
This allowed me to mostly keep up with Kumoko-chan’s pace.
Of course, forcibly moving like that meant I couldn’t make tight turns and my insides got shaken up terribly, leaving me extremely nauseated... but I endured it.
Having secured a reliable means of travel, Kumoko-chan and I focused solely on ambushing and eliminating monsters within our hunting range to grind levels.
At the same time, we worked on improving our fire resistance and other necessary skills.
The monsters we could feasibly hunt were, for the most part, ones with potent venom and a distinctly bitter taste.
But in a labyrinth where food is scarce, we couldn’t afford to be picky—we simply endured and kept eating.
When I once muttered to Kumoko-chan, (It’s tough that there’s nothing but this kind of food, huh?)
She gave me a distant, haunted look—as if recalling even worse flavors she’d once encountered.
...That’s probably one of those “curiosity killed the cat” situations where I’m better off not knowing.
On another occasion, something even more startling happened—Kumoko-chan took a bite directly out of the moss coating my body.
Since my moss isn’t exactly wired to nerves, I didn’t feel any pain, and as long as it was only a small amount, it would regrow gradually anyway, so I wasn’t too bothered.
But the first time caught me entirely off guard.
Apparently, my moss has a strong paralysis property.
After nibbling on it, Kumoko-chan got pretty numb—but if that helped her level up her paralysis resistance, I figured it was a decent trade-off.
Still, getting bitten out of nowhere wasn’t just bad for my heart—it was downright infuriating.
—Specifically, I got so mad that I paralyzed Kumoko-chan on purpose and pummeled her endlessly while she couldn’t move as punishment.
Even so, she kept nibbling on me over and over afterward, so eventually, I just gave up and let her do as she pleased.
It usually happened after she’d eaten some especially nasty-tasting monster.
Once, I even asked her, (Is my moss tasty or something?)
After tilting her head and thinking hard for a few minutes, she answered, [It’s like really strong mint.]
...Is this her idea of a palate cleanser or something?
And then, when our levels had climbed a fair bit—disaster struck.
Just as we were about to make a serious push into the Middle Stratum, it appeared.
(Earth Dragon Kaguna)
One of the earth dragons we had clashed with before—the one from that chaotic battle.
An icy terror that seemed to unravel me from the inside out, and a dark rage that could melt even that fear, boiled together and threatened to consume my mind.
As my thoughts dissolved and my senses sharpened to the point of losing all color, Kumoko-chan sprang into action.
I could feel the surge of magic as she desperately leapt clear from her web.
Then Kumoko-chan bolted—and as I hastily shifted into a defensive stance, her web exploded under the dragon’s breath attack.
I threw up an earthen wall with earth magic to brace for the blast, but even without a direct hit, the impact hurled me far away, my body bouncing painfully across the ground.
By sheer luck, I was flung in the same direction as Kumoko-chan.
I took advantage of the momentum by casting wind magic on myself to accelerate further and caught up with her.
When I reached her, she gave me a surprised look—but I ignored it and kept rolling along.
With dragon breath looming behind us, hesitating even for a second would mean certain death by obliteration.
And so, both of us were driven forward—forced into the Middle Stratum by the earth dragon's assault.
Feeling the passage to the lower stratum crumble behind us, we pressed onward into a domain of blistering magma, knowing deep down that there was no turning back.
Thus, we stepped into a new burning hell.
Although we had been more or less forced into exploring the Middle Stratum, compared to the first time we came here, we were now advancing through the magma-filled layers with a considerable amount of composure.
The first time we came here, it had been so hot that our HP was constantly draining, but now, thanks to [HP Auto-Recovery] and [Fire Resistance LV1], we were barely able to outpace the damage with recovery — just enough to manage.
We healed the damage we’d taken while fleeing with healing magic and got ourselves back into shape, but from now on, restoring HP would either require leveling up or consuming MP for healing, so we’d have to be careful not to wear ourselves out too much.
As we were chatting like that and trudging along together—
Elroe Gunerush — LV5
Status
HP: 159/159 (green)
MP: 145/148 (blue)
SP: 145/145 (yellow)
116/145 (red)Average Attack Ability: 83
Average Defense Ability: 81
Average Magic Ability: 79
Average Resistance Ability: 77
Average Speed Ability: 88Skills : Fire Wyrm LV1 / Hit LV2 / Swim LV3 / Heat Nullification
We encountered the seahorse-like monster we had discovered the first time we came here.
It was much larger than either of us, but its stats and skills were overwhelmingly low; it was weak enough that just a few spells could bring it down easily. However, since it resided in magma, it would be troublesome if it chose to hide.
I immediately began constructing a spell, but it was blocked by one of Kumoko-chan’s front legs thrust in front of me.
Then Kumoko-chan slowly approached the seahorse.
The seahorse counterattacked by spitting a fireball from its mouth, but Kumoko-chan, with just enough space — or rather, because she had plenty of leeway — continued to dodge it effortlessly, just brushing past.
Apparently, that fireball consumed MP, and Kumoko-chan seemed intent on outlasting it in a battle of endurance until it ran out of MP.
Once the seahorse had exhausted its MP, instead of diving back into the magma to escape, it simply climbed up onto land.
It charged at us… well, “charged” was putting it generously — its movement was so slow that it was only a bit faster than me crawling at full speed.
For Kumoko-chan, it looked almost like it was standing still, and she quickly dispatched it.
However, the tip of her leg that had pierced it seemed to have burned, and she flailed it around trying to cool it off. While casting a healing spell on her, I looked over at the seahorse we had just defeated.
Even enemies with bad compatibility for us — like ones who live in magma and use fire-based attacks — could be manageable if we could lure them onto land, or so I thought.
Since I still had plenty of MP left, I tried dousing the still-hot seahorse corpse with water magic, but due to the surrounding environment, it barely cooled at all. It seemed like we’d have no choice but to wait for it to cool naturally to an edible temperature.
While waiting, we dealt with other seahorses that attacked us, and eventually, the first one we had killed cooled down enough to be eaten.
It seemed Kumoko-chan had a basic policy of eating absolutely everything she killed. So far, aside from the very first seahorse we couldn’t retrieve because it sank into magma, she’d eaten everything no matter how bitter or disgusting it tasted.
So, following her lead, I decided to eat it as well.
(Hmm… tough and unremarkable…)
It was unbelievably tough and rubbery, creaking between my teeth and hard to bite through. It wasn’t bitter, but there wasn’t a trace of deliciousness either — it felt like chewing on a lump of rubber.
Still, we had to eat to survive.
I could only believe that the more we defeated and the more we ate, the stronger we would become — and keep pushing forward.
We continued our exploration of the Middle Stratum for what felt like several days.
Due to the harsh environment, it was difficult to rest properly, and although I was feeling the effects of fatigue and sleep deprivation, we kept pressing on.
As expected, the performance drop from lack of sleep was brutal. Although I hadn’t passed out or anything, it had begun to affect my spell construction. So I raised my status resistance — which included Sleep Resistance — a bit, and also felt that my skills at building resting spots that blended into the surrounding rocks were improving.
Sometimes, I’d hollow out rocks and place thin slabs to cover the entrance; other times, I’d create multiple boulders to block line of sight, or if in a clear area with no cover, I’d dig a hole and hide inside. I did all this out of necessity, but Kumoko-chan would always watch me with an expectant look, as if she thought I was some kind of useful kid — and sometimes that made me feel just a little bit annoyed.
In the Middle Stratum where magma flows, if I rolled around like before, there was a very high chance I’d just fall and splash right in. So, I used Wind Magic with minimal power to gently lift myself, and when I flew too far or picked up too much speed, I adjusted using a new spell I acquired with skill points—Heavy Magic, which lets me control gravity.
Thanks to [Omniscient] allowing me to grasp extremely precise information, this acrobatic technique was just barely viable. But because I was doing things like this, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Kumoko-chan saw me as a dexterous, handy companion.
While I was thinking that, [Omniscient] picked up the presence of a new type of creature I’d never seen before.
After a while, what emerged from the magma was a massive, stocky catfish-like monster.
Elroe Guneseven — LV7
Status
HP: 461/461 (green)
MP: 223/223 (blue)
SP: 218/218 (yellow)
451/466 (red)Average Attack Ability: 368
Average Defense Ability: 311
Average Magic Ability: 161
Average Resistance Ability: 158
Average Speed Ability: 155Skills : Fire Wyrm LV2, Dragon Scales LV1, Hit LV8, Swim LV7, Overeating LV3, Heat Nullification
Oooh, it's big... but compared to the landlord or the Earth Dragon, it's really not that impressive in size.
Stat-wise, it’s generally higher than the two of us, but I excel in magic, and Kumoko-chan in speed—it’s not overwhelmingly superior.
What’s more, I’d realized that most of the ordinary monsters we’ve seen so far only have a few skills and, with a few exceptions, only use simple attacks or techniques that match their appearance.
Thinking back on it, the Ark Kokedama, that we called the landlord had a large number of skills and skillfully used a variety of magic. It made me realize all over again just how much of an exception they were—and how truly amazing the landlord was.
From what I could see, we should be able to fight this thing just fine, so I called out to Kumoko-chan.
(Hey, I think we can take it. Mind if we fight?)
After tilting her head slightly, Kumoko-chan gave a big nod.
Then, to lure it out, I hit it with a weakened spell to provoke it and began retreating.
It hurled magma and fireballs at us, but I blocked them with earthen walls using my rapidly growing Earth Magic and waited for the catfish to climb up.
Just like the seahorse, it seemed to have the habit of coming onto land once its MP dropped. Just as I thought I’d finally lured it out, I noticed another presence approaching fast.
(Kumoko-chan, watch out behind you!)
A catfish burst out of the magma behind Kumoko-chan.
Thanks to my warning, she noticed it in time and calmly dodged as it lunged at her with its mouth wide open to swallow her.
Then, just as it opened its mouth again to bite, Kumoko-chan hurled a deadly poison deep into its throat.
The catfish, having swallowed the deadly poison, writhed and twisted its huge body in agony.
When I checked with [Appraisal], it didn’t have any poison resistance skills, so without resistance, taking a dose of Kumoko-chan’s poison — honed in the extremely dangerous Lower Stratum — was obviously lethal. Its HP was probably dropping rapidly right now.
Meanwhile, the first catfish that had just climbed onto land showed signs of fear upon seeing the suffering of its kin.
As it began retreating slowly to escape, I quickly unleashed my strongest spell without holding back.
My unrestrained spell rapidly shaved away the catfish’s body and HP, but I felt the damage wasn’t getting through as well as I’d hoped.
Thinking it might get away at this rate, I increased the power and number of spells and managed to finish it off, but I was puzzled by how my magic had weakened just before hitting it.
While confirming that Kumoko-chan was finishing off the convulsing catfish behind me, I appraised the near-dead one again and realized the reason.
[Dragon Scales] — a skill that reduces the power of magical attacks using special scales.
It was a skill that negated my primary means of attack — magic.
Having learned about this [Dragon Scales] skill, I had a sinking feeling that if we had to fight an opponent with an even higher-level version of this, I wouldn’t stand a chance as I was now.
I constructed a spell with excessive power against the already dying catfish.
Then, pouring in a massive amount of MP, I fired a fully strengthened and compressed spell into the catfish.
The catfish was obliterated by the all-out spell, its skull torn apart and the contents of its head splattering everywhere as it died.
As I stared at it with emotionless eyes, Kumoko-chan poked me from the side.
Then she pointed at the catfish we had just killed.
—Ah, yeah, if we leave it like that, it’ll sink.
I manipulated the ground with Earth Magic to pull it up, feeling a certain confidence within me.
Even if it was resisted, if I could surpass that resistance with overwhelming power, my magic could still pierce through.
After making sure the surroundings were safe, the two of them crouched down to rest on the rocky ground, hot like asphalt scorched under the midsummer sun, waiting for the catfish to cool enough to eat.
As they waited, both drifted into deep thought, reflecting on the battle that had just taken place.
Yet, though they shared the silence, different thoughts weighed on each of their hearts—
----
Author's Note:
The moss ball (Kokedama) bouncing and spinning at high speed, and Kumoko, who is secretly a bit put off by such an absurd method of movement.
Even with stat-based enhancements and the lack of a human-like semicircular canal, the G-forces it must be experiencing are probably intense...
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